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Below are the description of some of the activities available on Monday, Feb. 19, for the Sustainability Solutions Annual Family Day at the Arizona Science Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.!

Salt River Project: Recipes for Sustainability

Discover how SRP delivers more than water and power through an interactive display highlighting recipes for sustainability. Share your recipe to win an exciting prize pack and earn the recipe card for Water.

(Re) imagine Phoenix

City of Phoenix Public Works, Aviation and Water departments’ teams are on hand to share innovative approaches the city is taking to achieve a more sustainable community. Learn how you can get involved then earn the recipe card for Waste.

Arizona Public Service

APS generates safe, affordable and reliable electricity to over 1.2 million customers. Join APS in playing the game, Water Roll. In this game you decide where we should spend our resources. At this activity you will be rewarded the recipe card for Energy.

Future City

Every year hundreds of middle school students compete in the Future City Arizona Region Competition. The students create cities in the future that solve today’s sustainability challenges. Check out the impressive 3D models crafted from recycled materials!

Wonders of the Compost Bin

The Wonders of the Compost Bin is an interactive exhibit featuring the beneficial invertebrates that help turn food and other organic waste into healthy compost for your garden. Think of it as tiny petting zoo for the unsung heroes of decay: worms, roaches and other critters. Although you might never see them, each of these micro-beasts has a fascinating story, and plays a crucial role in a process that we often take for granted. Come learn what else is lurking in your compost bin! Earn a recipe card for Purchasing at this activity.

Meet Chef Mona!

Bear Essential News partnered with Arizona State University to produce Mona’s Kitchen, an interactive book that shares sustainability concepts with all ages. Pick up your copy of Mona’s Kitchen today. Recipe winners from the Mona’s Kitchen recipe contest will have their chef-prepared dishes available to sample on the 4th floor terrace from 12:00-1:00 p.m.

Cold Water Saves!

Did you know about 90 percent of the energy used by washing machines during laundry goes towards heating the water? Using cold water to wash clothes helps to decrease energy usage. Come and explore other ways The Sustainability Consortium and American Chemical Institute are saving energy and keeping your clothes fresh! (1:00 – 2:00 p.m.)

Liberty Wildlife

Liberty Wildlife nurtures the nature of Arizona through wildlife rehabilitation, natural history education and conservation services. Check out the majestic rescued birds on display from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Future Builder

Can you create a sustainable future city? Future Builder introduces the three pillars of sustainability — society, economy and environment — and allows participants to consider the trade-offs associated with building different things, especially the high cost and relative scarcity of valuable resources. Earn a recipe card for Resources at this activity.

Efficiency: It’s a bird! No, it’s a train!

Learn how a bird inspired an engineer to build a faster, quieter and more efficient bullet train. Over 3.8 billion years, nature has found efficient solutions to move and live on land, through the air or under the sea. When we look to nature to improve the things we make, it’s called “biomimicry.” After completing this activity, you will be awarded a Transportation station recipe card.

Puddle on Your Plate – 92 percent of your water footprint is hidden in the food you eat! Take a plate and help yourself to a meal. Then calculate the water footprint of the food you chose. Can you make some different choices to reduce your water footprint?

Xeriscaping – Wise landscaping choices can help to lower our water use while still providing a beautiful yard. Participants can use the models and pictures to design a landscape, then calculate the water usage for their design. What changes can they make in their design to reduce the water needs of their home? Paper and colored pencils are also provided so that they can draw their design and take it home.

How Long Will It Take – Many containers and packaging materials take a very long time to decompose. What do you think happens to these materials when they go to the dump? To the recycling center? Thrown on the side of the road? Do you think some materials may be more harmful than others? Try to match the cards to the items on the table and guess how long each would take to decompose under average conditions.

Eco–Weave – Learn how you can reuse your plastic bags to make “plarn,” a plastic yarn that can be woven, knitted, or crocheted!

Banishing Bycatch – Select one of the fishing methods (seine net, trawler, or hook and line) and start fishing. Which method gives you the least bycatch?

Sustainability Pledge – After learning about sustainable living, participants can write an individual “Sustainability Pledge” and make a commitment for more sustainable practices.

Hi everyone! I’m Chef Mona.

When you sit down to eat a delicious meal, do you ever think about all the people that helped to make it? I sure do.

The food served from my kitchen makes an incredible journey from the farm to your fork, and it involves many important people along the way.

Most of the food we eat starts on a farm where farmers grow fruits and vegetables and raise livestock.

After a harvest, food is cleaned, prepared and packaged by people in a processing plant. Sometimes, you can buy farm-fresh food at a farmers’ market in your neighborhood, but usually it’s shipped to a grocery store or restaurants by train, truck, boat or plane.

At the grocery store, workers stock shelves with food for sale and a cashier will put the foods you purchase in a bag. When you eat at a local restaurant, your server will bring you a delicious meal made by a chef, like me!

I love how food connects all of the people in my neighborhood and community. When I cook with my friends and family, we share recipes and learn how to make new meals together. When we sit down to eat, we get to talk and laugh and have fun, too.

Speaking of fun, today I’m getting ready for a festival in my neighborhood. I’m going to cook a special dish called Three Sisters Soup, my specialty that uses lots of local ingredients.

This means I’m going to have a busy day traveling through the city to get everything I need for my soup. Come along with me as we visit a community garden, a farmers’ market and my restaurant, Mona’s Kitchen. We’ll learn how good food connects us to each other, to our community and even our entire planet!

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